MIT Technology Review

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. How CRISPR could help save crops from devastation caused by pests For decades, the grape-growers of California have battled Pierce’s Disease, a nasty infection which causes vines to wither. The arrival of an…

This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. No piece of media shaped me more than the mid-2000s TV show MythBusters. In the show, a band of special-effects pros tested out myths from TV shows or popular knowledge, like: Can a…

Central California grape-grower Steve McIntyre was familiar with Pierce’s Disease. But that did not prepare him for what he saw when he visited his brother’s Southern California citrus and avocado farm in 1998. The disease, which causes vines to wither and grapes to deflate like old balloons, had long existed in California. But the infection…

Organizations rely on networks to power their work. But managing the myriad applications and data that a business depends on is not without its challenges. That’s where networking services come in. Think of networking services—like Azure Networking Services—as technology’s orchestra conductor. Instead of closely studying sheet music, understanding the skills of dozens of musicians, and…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. How the Supreme Court ruling on Section 230 could end Reddit as we know it When the Supreme Court hears a landmark case on Section 230 later in February, all eyes will be…

We live in an age where the concept of being an entrepreneur is increasingly broad. It’s often hard to slot occupations—hosting a podcast, driving for Uber, even having an OnlyFans account—into the traditional definitions of employment vs. entrepreneurship. Of course, this is not a strictly Western phenomenon; it’s happening all over the world. And in…

When the Supreme Court hears a landmark case on Section 230 later in February, all eyes will be on the biggest players in tech—Meta, Google, Twitter, YouTube. A legal provision tucked into the Communications Decency Act, Section 230 has provided the foundation for Big Tech’s explosive growth, protecting social platforms from lawsuits over harmful user-generated…

The dodo bird was big, flightless, and pretty good eating. All that helps explain why it went extinct around 1662, just 150 years after European sailing ships found Mauritius, the island in the Indian Ocean where the bird once lived. Now a US biotechnology company says it plans to bring the dodo back into existence.…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. We have enough materials to power the world with renewable energy The news: Powering the world with renewable energy will take a lot of raw materials. The good news is, when it comes…

Powering the world with renewable energy will take a lot of raw materials. The good news is, when it comes to aluminum, steel, and rare-earth metals, there’s plenty to go around, according to a new analysis. In the 2015 Paris Agreement, world leaders set a goal to keep global warming under 1.5 °C, and reaching…

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. In the last week there has been a lot of talk about whether journalists or copywriters could or should be replaced by AI. Personally, I’m not worried. Here’s why. So far, newsrooms have pursued…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Mass-market military drones have changed the way wars are fought When the United States first fired a missile from an armed Predator drone at suspected Al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan in November 2001,…

Mass-market military drones are one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2023. Explore the rest of the list here. When the United States first fired a missile from an armed Predator drone at suspected Al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan on November 14, 2001, it was clear that warfare had permanently changed. During the…

This article is from The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, sign up here. Egg freezing is on my mind. At 36, I’m at an age when many of my friends have had babies, and the few who haven’t are weighing up their options. If they…

A Roomba recorded a woman on the toilet. How did screenshots end up on social media? This episode we go behind the scenes of an MIT Technology Review investigation that uncovered how sensitive photos taken by an AI powered vacuum were leaked and landed on the internet. Reporting: We meet: Credits: This episode was reported…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. People are already using ChatGPT to create workout plans When I opened the email telling me I’d been accepted to run the London Marathon, I felt elated. And then terrified. Barely six months…

When I opened the email telling me I’d been accepted to run the London Marathon, I felt elated. And then terrified. Barely six months on from my last marathon, I knew how dedicated I’d have to be to keep running day after day, week after week, month after month, through rain, cold, tiredness, grumpiness, and…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. An ALS patient set a record for communicating via a brain implant The news: Eight years ago, a patient lost her power of speech because of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, which causes…

China Report is MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology developments in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. This past Sunday was the Lunar New Year, the most important holiday for Chinese and several other Asian cultures. It’s difficult to celebrate this holiday with China Report readers, as I originally planned, when I…

Eight years ago, a patient lost her power of speech because of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, which causes progressive paralysis. She can still make sounds, but her words have become unintelligible, leaving her reliant on a writing board or iPad to communicate. Now, after volunteering to receive a brain implant, the woman has been…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. A few pieces of good news on climate change (and a reality check) When it comes to the climate, the picture can look bleak. Emissions of the greenhouse gasses that cause climate change…

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. Oh man, it’s brutal out there. One by one, the world’s richest tech companies have announced massive layoffs. Just last week, Alphabet announced it was laying off 12,000 people. There have been…

RISC-V is one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2023. Explore the rest of the list here. Python, Java, C++, R. In the seven decades or so since the computer was invented, humans have devised many programming languages—largely mishmashes of English words and mathematical symbols—to command transistors to do our bidding. But the…

When it comes to climate, the picture can look bleak. Emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change reached a new peak in 2022, according to early estimates. And climate disasters seem to be hitting at a breakneck pace. In 2022, the world experienced record heat waves in China and Europe, and devastating floods…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. How the James Webb Space Telescope broke the universe When the James Webb Space Telescope sent its first images back to Earth in July last year, researchers gathered excitedly to pore over them.…

The James Webb Space Telescope is one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2023. Explore the rest of the list here. Natalie Batalha was itching for data from the James Webb Space Telescope. It was a few months after the telescope had reached its final orbit, and her group at the University of…

Tech Review Explains: Let our writers untangle the complex, messy world of technology to help you understand what’s coming next. You can read more here. An American entrepreneur’s crude solar geoengineering effort in Baja California, first reported by MIT Technology Review in late December, has prompted widespread criticism—and now, the Mexican government plans to ban…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Hydrogen-powered planes take off with startup’s test flight The news: In a record trip for low-carbon aviation, a startup has completed a test flight of a 19-seat aircraft powered in part by hydrogen…

This article is from The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, sign up here. The CRISPR gene-editing tool has been making headlines for the last 10 years, since scientists showed it could be used to easily alter the genome of a living organism. The technology could…

In a record trip for low-carbon aviation, a startup has completed a test flight of a 19-seat aircraft powered in part by hydrogen fuel cells. It’s the largest plane that ZeroAvia, a leader in developing hydrogen-electric systems for planes, has tested in the air to date. The flight took off from Cotswold Airport in the…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Gene editing for the masses is coming We know the basics of healthy living by now. A balanced diet, regular exercise, and stress reduction can help us avoid heart disease—the world’s biggest killer.…

This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. When strangers find out that I’m a climate technology reporter, they often have a lot of questions for me, or concerns to share. Some have heard that birds fly into wind turbines. Or…

Millions of fish are farmed in the US every year, but many of them die from infections. In theory, genetically engineering fish with genes that protect them from disease could reduce waste and help limit the environmental impact of fish farming. A team of scientists have attempted to do just that—by inserting an alligator gene…

CRISPR for high cholesterol is one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2023. Explore the rest of the list here. We know the basics of healthy living by now. A balanced diet, regular exercise, and stress reduction can help us avoid heart disease—the world’s biggest killer. But what if you could take a vaccine,…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Why my bittersweet relationship with Shein had to end—Zeyi Yang, China reporter I’ve been missing the online shopping experience in China since I moved to the US four years ago. I grew up…

China Report is MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology developments in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. I’m a lot like everyone else these days, doing a bit of self-reflection at the beginning of the year. I’m a tech reporter, but I also use tech platforms for my personal life. And throughout…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. How old batteries will help power tomorrow’s EVs To Redwood Materials, the rows of cardboard boxes in the parking lot of its new battery recycling site just outside Reno, Nevada, represent both the…

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. Microsoft is reportedly eyeing a $10 billion investment in OpenAI, the startup that created the viral chatbot ChatGPT, and is planning to integrate it into Office products and Bing search. The tech giant has…

Battery recycling is one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2023. Explore the rest of the list here. As Tesla’s former chief technology officer, JB Straubel has been a major player in bringing electric vehicles to the world. He’s often credited with inventing key pieces of Tesla’s battery technology and establishing the company’s charging…

Battery recycling is one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2023. Explore the rest of the list here. To Redwood Materials, the rows of cardboard boxes in its gravel parking lot represent both the past and the future of electric vehicles. The makeshift storage space stretches for over 10 acres at Redwood’s new…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Brazilians are turning to Instagram to identify far-right rioters In the hours after far-right insurrectionists trashed government buildings in Brazil’s capital on Sunday January 8, a new account popped up on Instagram. Called…

In the hours after far-right insurrectionists trashed government buildings in Brazil’s capital on Sunday, a new account popped up on Instagram. Called Contragolpe Brasil—a clever play on words that means both “Against the coup Brazil” and “Counterblow Brazil”—it quickly started posting photos of alleged riot participants. The idea was to crowdsource information that could identify…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Why Congo’s most famous national park is betting big on crypto In eastern Congo, a guard carrying a heavy AK-47 is a rare authority figure in a largely lawless region—a ranger who usually…

This article is from The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, sign up here. This week, a sore throat and bunged-up nose led me to break out my dusty old box of covid tests. I haven’t had to use one in a while—immunity where I live,…